


MissMnMs Promptober Fest 2018

by MissMnMs



Category: Veronica Mars (TV), Veronica Mars - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-07-25 14:18:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 13,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16199255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissMnMs/pseuds/MissMnMs
Summary: My very first attempt not only for fanfiction but any fiction. Thanks to AdorkableAuthor for setting this up and giving me the push to work outside of my comfort zone.31 days of very short scenes/moments that fit somewhere within the Veronica Mars universe.





	1. Flashlight

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first time I have written fiction since high school, or maybe before that. So please, be kind. I'll be posting the first 5 prompts today, then will continue with the one a day for the rest of the month. Most works are pretty benign, but I'll put any warnings in the notes for each chapter.

She stood at the bottom of the dark stairs. The floor was damp, her shoes making sloshing sounds with each step. She knew it had to be here somewhere; probably not in one of the many boxes lining the walls. Though those bottom boxes are probably getting soaked too, she realized, but then decided that she could deal with that later. For now, she had to remain focused.  _CRASH!_ The loud bang overhead made her jump, her heart beating a bit faster. The faster she found it, the sooner she could get out of here she told herself.

 

The old dresser pushed under the stairs looked promising. She pulled each drawer open finding a hodgepodge of old clothes, photographs, and inexplicably some cat toys. Did they ever have a cat? Not that she had heard of. But yes, under the pictures she saw a very promising lump. She mentally crossed her fingers while reaching for it and let out a breath when she pushed the button and a beam of light appeared across a photo of two toddlers dressed up for Halloween, the taller one Batman and the shorter one the Joker.

 

“I found the flashlight Dick! It’s safe for you to come down now. No monsters hiding in the dark.” She shouted upwards. “Well, no more than usual anyway” she added to herself, shuddering at the creepy grin Cassidy had in the picture.

 

“Ha ha. Good one Ronnie” Dick replied from the top of the steps. “Come on back up then”

 

“All your boxes are probably getting ruined. Don’t you want to get them upstairs, especially in case the storm gets worse? There are some family pictures down here.”

 

“No, just leave it. I’ve been moving that stuff around since I was 18 and I’ve never even opened the boxes. Just leave it. If it’s ruined I’ll get someone in to get rid of it all next week.”

 

Dick was clearly trying to sound nonchalant, but Veronica could hear something else in his voice. That longing for the nice boring family he never got to have.

 

Veronica headed up the stairs, slipping a few of the photographs into her pocket as she went. Maybe someday he’d be ready to see them again.


	2. Closed

“I can’t believe they’re closed! I mean, I know they were overpriced and once eBay took off I really didn’t have much need for RadioShack anymore. But this place is like my entire teen experience. Where else was a 16 year old supposed to get a cell phone interceptor? And my guy here could get me just about anything, I mean looking back…”

Mac trailed off. She knew she was going off on a tangent. But she was genuinely surprised by her sadness at seeing the empty storefront. When she was younger and told her mom she was going to the mall she never meant the fancy one where ‘09ers shopped. She meant this strip mall, once simply nondescript but now downright seedy. RadioShack wasn’t the only empty storefront. The only current occupants were check cashing place and a liquor store that was likely a front for something else. There was also Unit D, which had boarded windows and she would have guessed it to be empty expect that is where they were going. 

“Are you sure this is the right address? Maybe they mixed up the numbers or something?” Veronica glanced warily at the boarded windows. She had definitely been in worse places, but never for a job interview. 

“This is the place. Knavish Law offices. ‘Your pain will make it rain’ according to the ads they run at 3am. Why are we doing this again?”

“Because cocking my head and smiling doesn’t work with the power company now that it’s all run by machines. They need an investigator on retainer and we need the work. And besides, worst case scenario I get some pictures to show my dad next time he starts talking about how my life would be so much better if I take the bar.”

“Fair enough. I’ve got the mace. Let’s go see what sort of rain they’re talking about” 

Veronica quickly patted her pockets checking that her phone and taser were in place as they both climbed out of the car and headed towards the door.


	3. Demonstration

Keith Mars stood next to a road barricade. He did his best to exude an authority, drawing himself up to his full 5’8” tall…well, maybe its closer to 5’7”, but the shoes help a bit. One hand kept nervously fiddling with his radio, the other he found kept patting where he was already used to his holster falling, though today he was without it.

Hundreds of students were holding a demonstration at Hearst. Something to do with the bombing in Beirut, he thought, but honestly he wasn’t clear on what they hoped to accomplish. It didn’t really matter all that much to him. He was mostly just here to keep the crazy kids out of traffic.

Kids. That thought made him chuckle a bit. It still felt weird to be in this position of authority. Hell, he went to high school with more than a few of the people he noticed in the crowd. He knew that half of them were probably a couple years older than he was. It almost felt like Halloween, as if he were dressed up as a cop instead of one of Balboa County’s newest deputies.

On a normal shift he found himself easily falling into his duty to protect and serve. On those occasions he was able to really help someone, he knew he had found his calling. So maybe when he was on speed trap duty he let more people go with warnings than he was supposed to. He always preferred to give a second chance if someone seemed like a genuinely good person. After all, he became a cop to help people. If he had been interested in fame or money he could have moved up to L.A, tried life as an actor. Or he could have found a way to afford college, maybe been one of the crowd shouting and chanting for peace.


	4. Cashmere

“Alcohol, bracelets, cashmere, diamonds, espadrilles…I’ll need to think of an F. Gucci, of course. Hermès…or should it be handcuffs? What’ya think V?” Lilly was wiggling her eyebrows lasciviously when Veronica finally looked up from her science textbook.

“Handcuffs? For photosynthesis?”

“Ver-ON-ic-A” Lilly sing-songed in that tone that said she couldn’t believe someone wasn’t focused only on her. “We’re too old to go trick-or-treating. So I’m making up a list of age-appropriate treats we can celebrate with. A-Z, naturally.”

“Okay…” Veronica said, feeling a bit disappointed to be declared too old to trick or treat, yet as always it was easier just to go along with it. “So how are the handcuffs a treat?”

“I don’t know. I’ve heard they can be lots of fun” she waggled her eyebrows again. “I bet Logan would be willing to try them out with us. Or maybe we could play cops and robbers with those Navarro cousins. You just know they know a thing or two about handcuffs.” 

“C’mom, Halloween is still almost a month away. This test is next week” Veronica looked pointedly at her textbook again, trying to hide her discomfort about all things sex from Lilly. 

“Handcuffs it is then. Help me finish this list and then we can figure out our costumes.”


	5. Harvest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one deals with Veronica's feelings very shortly after Lilly's death. Might be a trigger for some.

> **_Under the Harvest Moon_ **
> 
> **_Dance the night away_ **

The posters are on practically every vertical surface in the school. Inside the bathroom stalls, on every door, everywhere. I can’t escape the damn things. At least next week the dance will be over and they can all be taken down. I’ll do it myself if I have to. It was bad enough when Duncan just disappeared on me. We were supposed to go together. Once he started avoiding me, I figured it was probably off, but I was holding out hope that he just had something else going on and it would all be better soon. Lilly said she’d talk to him.

 

Oh God, Lilly! Who could have done that to her? I keep forgetting, and then I remember and the guilt of forgetting is almost worse then the sadness. She deserves to be remembered. But sometimes, as I’m walking between classes I glance over at her locker expecting to see her. Or I check the parking lot for her SUV, and when I don’t see it there’s that moment where I wonder where she’s ditching today. Then I remember.

 

I see that night in flashes in my head. I see Duncan rocking to calm himself. I see Dad, standing out by the pool in the dark. I see the stain, too dark to be water, looking like it’s melting across the concrete. Then I see. And it’s all I can see.

 

And then I feel guilty, because I remember. I remember that my first thought was that it was a prank; she had finally gone too far. This was just her trying to piss off Celeste. I thought…and then I wondered why were all the deputies standing around? And my dad, he turned me away.

 

I can’t remember if I said goodbye to her when she dropped me off after the car wash. I was tired and all I could think of was taking a shower. I don’t remember what my last words were to my best friend. I don’t remember what her last words to me were. I don’t know how I’m going to get through this. I don’t think I can get through this. It’s not fair. How am I supposed to deal with loosing the one person who could make this all tolerable? She should be sitting next to me, whispering inappropriate death jokes in my ear.

 

I can’t deal with this. I shouldn’t be here. I need to get out of this school before it suffocates me.


	6. Exposed

Feet up on the coffee table, beer in hand with a couple of empties near his feet; Dick was in their living room, again. Not that she minded, not really, but a little warning would have been nice.

 

“Where’s Logan?” She asked as she kicked off her shoes and hung her jacket by the door.

 

“Running or burpies or something to stay mad jacked. You know. You totally should have signed off on this thing. I’m still making money on the residuals. Crazy, right?”

 

“He wasn’t thinking clearly anymore. His only thought was of preventing his secret from being exposed” a deep voice said from the wall behind her. She glanced at the TV for the first time. _The Aaron Echolls’ Story_  was on. Why was it still running? It had been 15 years. Wouldn’t the man’s fame ever die? She grabbed the remote. Anything else would be better.

 

“Whoa, Ronnie! I was watching that. They were just getting to the point where he goes crazy and sets some dude's house on fire!”

 

“I lived it, remember? And it wasn’t the house, it was the porch. And my father. Why are you watching this trash anyway? I’m pretty sure we get Skinamax, isn’t that more your speed?”

 

“Hey, give a dude some credit here. I have evolved. I don’t need to watch fake almost porn anymore. The internet is my oyster and I can watch all the real porn I want.”

 

“Glad to see you are so evolved. I’m going to take Pony for a jog on the beach. Tell Logan when he gets back it’s his turn to do dinner.”

 

“Sure thing Ronnie”

 

“America was shocked to find…” she slammed the door behind her, on the memories, and set off toward the beach.


	7. Throw Pillow

He couldn’t believe this was happening, that it was real. He could easily remember a time when he didn’t expect to see his 21st birthday. He was used to making ends meet by whatever means necessary. He was sure he would be stabbed in the back (maybe literally) by one of his own, or maybe the Sheriff's department would mistake his hand for a gun and that would be the end.

 

But no, this was all actually happening. He glanced around the room. The boxes took up most of the space, but those would be unpacked soon enough. He took in the couch, coffee table and chair set that Jade had found in a 2nd hand store. It looked brand new and she had gotten it for a steal. The couch and chair were dark green suede that was so soft he just wanted to run his hands over it. It picked up some of the green tones in the curtains he had just hung up. They were a geometric print that he thought was too busy, but Jade had insisted and now he had to admit he loved them.

 

It felt like a dream. Fancy furniture, fancy curtains, and this cute little 2 bedroom house that was actually theirs. Well, technically the it would be the banks for another 30 years probably, but they bought it. He had only ever lived in rentals; this was his very own house.

 

None of that was even the best part. Jade walked in from the kitchen and he grinned at her like a kid on Christmas morning. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and the bump protruding from under her t-shirt made him feel like the luckiest man in the world. A wonderful wife, a house, a daughter on the way. What more could he possibly want in life? And then he thought of something.

 

“Hey, babe, you know what we need? Some throw pillows.”

 

“Throw pillows?” She laughed “What, have you been watching HGTV again?”

 

“Trading Spaces is on TLC. But yes, Vern and Genevieve always add throw pillows. It makes a house a home; this is our home, forever.” He kissed her. The luckiest man in the world, he was sure of it.


	8. Patient

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crossover with the Disney show In a Heartbeat, staring Shawn Ashmore.

“What we know. The patient is female, mid 20’s to early 30’s. No ID. Head trauma, but initial scans are clean. Broken femur that is immobilized, vitals are good. She has been unconscious for the 3 hours since admission.”

 

She knew that voice. Did she fall asleep with the tv on? God, what a pounding headache. She should get up for some Tylenol or something. And turn out the lights. Why was it so bright in here anyway? Veronica forced her eyes to open. This wasn’t her bed. And too many people were talking. Moving her head hurt, but she finally managed to look toward the voices. There was a cluster of people standing there. Her eyes finally focused on the one who had been talking.

 

“Troy?” She croaked out, finding her throat very dry. “Water?”

 

Someone poured her a tiny plastic cup of water and held it to her lips. Someone else took her wrist to feel her pulse the started swiping a little light around her eyes.

 

“Ma’am, you are at New York Presbyterian. You were in an accident, but we are taking good care of you. Can you tell me your name?”

 

“Veronica…Mars. Troy, what are you doing here? What’s going on?”

 

“Veronica, my name is Dr. Connell. You were brought in to the emergency room after you got hit by a bike messenger and hit your head pretty hard. Can you tell me what year it is?”

 

“2013. Connell, that’s not right. Troy…Troy…Troy Vandegraff. Why did you change your name?”

 

“Veronica, are you feeling confused? I’m Tyler Connell, a doctor at New York Presbyterian. Is there someone I can call to tell you are here?”

 

“Did Punk’d make a comeback? I’m fine. Well, my head is killing me, but I’m thinking fine.” She was, wasn’t she? Yes, she was sure. No way could she forget him. “We went to high school together in Neptune. We dated. I busted you for stealing those steroids. You ditched me for Shawna. I got you out of that prickly situation at Hearst. Come on Troy. Give the poor patient a break here”

 

“I’m sorry Veronica, you must have me mistaken for someone else. I grew up in Kingsport and spent my time as a paramedic, not stealing drugs. We’re going to run some more tests, check your brain out. In the meantime, is there someone we can call for you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, I don't really like how this one turned out. But I recently watched In a Heartbeat on youtube, and having the Ashmore's being confused as their respective characters seemed funny to me in the moment.


	9. Shadow

“Pretty please Veronica? I haven’t done anything but study and show up to class in over 2 months. I need this. _We_ need this.” Kate, Veronica’s roommate, begged.

 

“I don’t know. Halloween isn’t really my thing. And I really should focus more on tortes, it’s kicking my ass.” Veronica, as had become usual for her, was at her desk. It currently was covered with 6 books, her laptop, her notebook from class, a separate notebook for taking notes while studying, assorted pens, highlighters, flags, sticky notes and a mug of coffee. She knew law school would be hard, but she hadn’t been prepared for the constant feeling of being underprepared.

 

“Just 2 hours. Or even just an hour. Please? I don’t want to go alone, and taking a break will be good.”

 

“Do I really have to wear a costume?”

 

“Of course! That’s the whole point of a Halloween party. Otherwise it would just be called a party.”

 

“Fine, I’m in. What are you going as?” Veronica realized she had pretty much accepted going to the party as her fate. It would be good to unwind a bit.

 

“Okay, so the theme is the law, I know it’s cheesy. I was thinking of being Lady Justice, but I’m totally broke so I needed something cheap. So this is what I came up with.”

 

Kate went over to the closet and pulled out a black turtleneck, black pants, and a poster board that simply read **_Doubt._**

“You decided to go as a cat burglar?” Veronica was laughing

 

“I’m the shadow of doubt.” Veronica groaned at that one.

 

“Well then, I know my costume. I’ll just stick close enough to you that I can be beyond the shadow of doubt!” The both started laughing hysterically. Kate was right; they did need a night of fun.


	10. I Almost Forgot

_DING!_

Veronica took a big gulp from her drink and added #7 to her list:

 

  1. _Tall, dimples, ONS potential._
  2. _Ladder climber. Probably wants trophy wife._
  3. _Texan._
  4. _Med student. Potential. Busy._
  5. _NOPE NOPE NOPE_



She heard some sitting down in the chair and took a bracing breath. She could do this.

 

“Veronica? What are you doing here?”

 

She looked up sharply. He had cut his hair. He was broader than he used to be, had lost the floppy gangly look of his youth for a very respectable profile. His suit fit very nicely, which was more than she could say for most of these guys. He was also the last person she ever expected to see here.

 

“Piz? Oh wow. Um, speed dating isn’t usually my thing but people keep telling me I need to be more social and…”

“I mean, what are you doing in New York? Long way from the land of the surfers.”

“I’m at Columbia Law School. 2nd year. What about you? What brings you to The Big Apple?”

“Well, I kind of work here. I mean, I do work here. Over at NPR.”

“Really? That’s amazing Piz. I know that had been one of your dreams. I’m so glad it worked out for you.”

 

_DING_

“Nice to see you again Veronica.”

And he was gone. All she could think to put on her list was

 

  1. _!!!!?????_



The rest of the rounds went by in a blur. She had to admit to herself she wasn’t really focusing on the guys. 2 minutes was just enough time to find a reason not to like someone anyway.

 

  1. _Tall_
  2. _Too loud_
  3. _Old Spice_
  4. _Gym clothes_



_DING_

Finally, speed dating was over. It was time to make her choices. Should she put Piz on her list? Would he want anything to do with her after how they ended things at Hearst? Could she be Veronica 2.0 if someone from her past was in her new life? Did she even want Piz in her new life? How much had he changed since freshman year?

 

Finally she decided to go for it. Worst case, he doesn’t and they don’t get matched. Or maybe they go out and nothing’s there. It’s not like she has much time to date anyway. One date should satisfy all the people telling her she needs to get a life. As she joins the line to turn in her list, a hand touches her shoulder. The voice was low and close to her ear in the loud bar.

 

“I almost forgot. Here’s my card. In case you want to see a friendly face sometime.”

 

He slipped his card into her had discreetly and disappeared into the crowd before she could say anything back.


	11. Platform

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the first season there were a few lines that made it seem like Veronica hadn't been part of the fab 4 very long.

Veronica was nervous. She had always gone to the “inland” schools of the Balboa county district. When she was in elementary school her dad was still a deputy they were living in the ’18, so far outside of the ’09 it might as well been a different world. He was elected sheriff when she was in 7th grade, which came with a very nice pay raise. They moved into the very nice house in the ’04 about 8 months later, but she managed to talk them into letting her stay at Hoover Middle school for 8th grade. But Lianne was sick of driving the half hour each way to drop off and pick up Veronica, so she was insistent. High school would be Neptune High.

 

It wasn’t a completely fresh start. Veronica had been on the soccer team in middle school, so she had of course played against the Neptune kids. And much of her free time for the past 3 years had been spent hanging out in her dad’s office, so there were a few kids she knew she should avoid. But the whole social structure was new to her. At Hoover almost everyone was middle class, or lower middle class. But she had heard the stories of Monroe middle, where all the ‘09ers went. They had dances at actual ballrooms. Kids had their own chauffeurs or nanny’s who took them everywhere. And they had unchaperoned house parties that were talked about with disbelief in the halls of Hoover. She knew her dad had to break them up more than once.

 

But now Veronica was in the land of Have’s and Have Not’s. She didn’t know where she would fit in. But she had guilted her mom into taking her shopping for all new clothes. She decided to go with lots of dresses, hip hugger jeans,  form fitting t-shirts and sweaters. She wasn’t quite sure about the shoes, but today she was wearing a pair of platforms that added over 3” to her diminutive size.

 

She had decided she was done with soccer. She was okay at it, but knew being short was a big disadvantage on the field, especially in high school, and she wasn’t that into it anyway. But she had heard the horror stories of the regular P.E. classes, so she knew she had to join something to get the P.E. credit.  So here she was, standing in the gym the week before school starts, wearing these ridiculous shoes and wondering past table after table of all the teams and clubs Neptune High has to offer.

 

“Cheer on the Pirates. Show your school pride and earn Pirate points!” a short but curvaceous blond called from the nearby pep squad table. “Hey, you! I don’t know you, come over here.” She called directly to Veronica.

 

Veronica put on her game face and walked over.

 

“Listen, I need to sign up at least 5 freshmen before I can get out of here, and I only need 2 more. So help a girl out?”

 

“I’m signing up!” A taller blond (did Veronica somehow stumble into some Arian alternate universe here? How is everyone blond?) came running up, pushing past veronica as if she weren’t even there. “You have to be on pep squad to try out for cheerleading, right? I am definitely going to be a cheerleader” she said as she scrawled her name on the sign up sheet in loopy girly handwriting.

 

  1. _Madison Sinclair_



 

“That means if you sign up I can get out of here. Please? I promise, it’s fun. And you get to wear your uniform without anyone getting on you about the dress code, and you get pirate points so you can order delivery for lunch.”

 

“Does it count for the P.E. credit?” Veronica asked.

 

“Sure does, doll” the girl replied, shoving the pen into Veronica’s hand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has a 2nd part that will fit tomorrow's prompt.


	12. Bowl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of the story started for the prompt "Platform"

“Great, thanks!” The girl said as Veronica added her name to the pep squad sign-up. “By the way, I’m Lilly. Lilly Kane. Yeah, those Kane’s, but don’t hold that against me, ok? So,” she glanced down at the sign up sheet “Veronica Mars. I’m going to the Hollywood bowl for one of those cheesy sing along things. My brother is brining his best friend, so I’m going to be outnumbered by dorks. Do you want to come? We could grab some lunch to eat on the way”

 

Wow, Veronica was flabbergasted. Had she really just made a friend that easily? The Hollywood Bowl was a good 2 ½ hours away, not exactly the type of thing she would generally do with someone she just met 10 seconds ago. But there was something about Lilly’s excitement that was contagious, and Veronica figured she might as well go with it.

“Sure, I’m in. I’ll just have to let my parents know. Are you driving?”

 

“I wish! No, can’t get my license quite yet. Mommy dearest can’t be bothered and Dad is at work, so we have the limo.”

 

 _We’re not in Kansas anymore Toto_ Veronica thought to herself. “Let me just go find a phone and I’ll call my mom. Then we can go.”

 

Veronica called the house, but her mom didn’t answer; not really surprising. So she called her dad at the station instead.

 

“I met some kids who invited me to go to the Hollywood Bowl with them. We’d leave now and probably get back kind of late tonight. Can I go? Please daddy?” She jumped right in when he answered.

 

“Who are these kids Veronica?” Keith asked in his best dad voice, but was secretly thrilled his little girl was managing to make new friends already. He hadn’t wanted to pull her away from all her friends.

 

“Well, actually I only met one. Lilly Kane. But her brother is taking a friend too. And they have a driver, a licensed professional who probably has a background check and everything so you know we will be safe.”

 

Keith felt like he had been punched in the gut. “Kane? Jake Kane’s kids?”

 

“Yeah, maybe. She did say ‘those Kane’s.’ Is it all right? Can I go? Pretty please? With a cherry on top?”

 

This was killing Keith. He had hoped Veronica would fall in with the artsy crowd, or the sporty crowd, stayed away from the ‘09ers and especially the Kane’s. But he had made a deal with himself a long time ago. He would never let Lianne’s crap get between him and his daughter. And he really did just want to see her happy.

 

“Okay kiddo, have fun. And hey, who’s your daddy?” He hung up with a chuckle before he could hear her groan.


	13. Dead End

Duane Shepard, Shep to most of his friends, had a pretty good sense of when to cut out and disappear. Getting greedy, holding out too long, that’s what lands you in prison. Tanner on the other hand must have been an actor or something in a former life, he got a high off playing the role and was always hanging on for a beat too long. That was the problem with working with Tanner. But there was no way to play this without that ham, they had to be in it together.

 

That other girl being found dead was rotten luck. They had of course known she probably was, but were hoping their luck would hold out for a couple more days. Just long enough to get the ransom money safely into offshore accounts and Shep to disappear. Then Aurora would be “found,” their game would be over. After that point, that would have been a good time for the other girl to be discovered. But that annoying blond, Tanner’s step daughter, just had to ruin their timeline.

 

The flights were scheduled for the morning. If he could just manage to hole up for 12 more hours they could still manage to pull this off. But he had made a mistake. That Aurora had grown up to be a real bitch. She called him up after finding out about the dead girl and demanded half the money or she would call the cops tonight. _HALF!_ They were already down more than half the take without the Dewalt money. He agreed, told Adrian to come pick up the money late, after 11 so people wouldn’t see. Then he cut and ran.

 

All he had to do was get out of Neptune. Sure, he didn’t like ducking out on his old friend, but really it was Tanner’s fault. If he couldn’t control his daughter that was on him. They had a fair split worked out, one he was happy to live up to. But no way was he going to let a kid ruin things for him, not again.

 

Outside of the Grand his plan was to just slip into the craziness of spring break as his cover. But it sounds like someone is following him. He could just be feeling over cautious, probably was in fact. There are so many teenagers around and it’s not like any of them care about the old guy in a suit. But just to get some distance between himself and the hotel, just incase Adrian comes by early, he’ll cut down this alley here.

 

Crap, it’s a dead end. He should have been paying attention, watching in front of him, but instead he had been lost in his head figuring out his next steps. He turned to exit the alley. Suddenly his head exploded in pain, and there was nothing but darkness.


	14. Light Bulb

“I remember when a light bulb was just a light bulb. 25 watt, 60 watt, 100 watt, that’s all you needed to know. Sure, you probably burnt yourself a few times here and there, but it was simple. Now it’s all CFL and LED and warm tones and soft tones and don’t even get me started on the shapes!”

 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Back in your day you’d leave the foxy stacked blond in the mustang listening to 8-tracks and run into the sack-n-pack and just grab a light bulb for a dime. Oh how horrible that times have changed. But I’m pretty sure the place comes with light bulbs. I was thinking more towels, bedding, maybe we can go crazy and I’ll buy a trashcan.”

 

Veronica had known it was a mistake to bring her dad with her to Target to buy stuff for the new place she had just signed a lease on. For someone who could solve any case with a dogged focus, he was very easily distracted by just about every isle. But he had insisted that the walking would be good for him and when he pulled the old “You’re moving out and we won’t get the quality daddy daughter time anymore” she had to relent.

 

Veronica had coaxed Keith over to the house wares section, with only one package of light bulbs added to their cart. She stopped to look at towels.

 

“I was thinking maybe going for a teal, but then again, white seems more practical. I can always bleach them, and I’ll probably end up having the towels longer than I’ll live in this place. What do you think?” But upon looking up, Keith and the cart were both gone. She grabbed 4 white towels and went to look for her father, again.

 

“Look honey. Unicorn sheets! I grabbed the matching comforter for you too. Remember how much you loved that store Unicornicopia at the mall when you were little?” He had a trolling twinkle in his eye.

 

“Not unicorns, a pony! All I ever wanted was a pony, and every single year I was disappointed.” She tossed the towels into the cart and did her best fake pout.

 

Keith headed off with the cart at a pace that Veronica had to admit was impressive. Veronica took a moment to grab 2 sets of sheets, without the unicorns, and a dark blue comforter. As much as the thought of Logan coming home to a bed covered in unicorn’s made Veronica giggle, she was an adult now and would be considerate of her boyfriend. But now, she needs to find her father. What was the point of having a cart if she ended up having to carry everything?

 

Veronica headed in the direction Keith had taken off in. She glanced up each isle as she passed the curtains, dishes, kitchenware, trashcans, shelves, everything that she actually did need. Maybe she should just go get a new cart, get the stuff she needs, and just let Keith wonder the wilds of Target until she is done. Yes, she decided, that is definitely the way to go.

As she turned towards the front of the store, cutting between Toys and Sports Equipment, she heard her name being called. There was a brief flash of panic, maybe he had fallen, or maybe his head trauma isn’t really as healed as they thought and he had somehow gotten lost and confused. She dropped the bedding and rushed in the direction of her father’s voice, somewhere in the toy department. And then she stopped short. Keith was on his feet and appeared fine. She could breathe again. Once the oxygen made its way to her brain her attention was drawn to the cart, now stuffed full of every My Little Pony figurine and play set, a creepy horse head mask, several plush horses, and at least 6 hobby horses.

 

“There, every pony you ever asked for. My parental obligations are complete.”


	15. Peak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heavily influenced by this video https://youtu.be/eMN6QDCjx_c I don’t come close to doing their relationship justice, so you should watch this a time or 10.

**Day 1**

“Come on man. You can do this!”

 

Logan was doubled over, desperately sucking in oxygen that didn’t seem to be making it into his lungs. He couldn’t think of a time where he felt this bad, and for him that was really saying something. He let himself fall all the way to the ground, and after what seemed like forever finally felt like he could breathe again.

 

“Why are we doing this?”

 

“Because you want to do something with your life. You want to serve the greater good. You want to be Tom Cruise in _Top Gun_ , and you made me promise to push you to get into peak physical condition” Dick replied, somehow still bouncing in a slight jog as he stood in front of his best friend.

 

Logan eventually stood up and managed to limp his way back home, amazed at Dick’s seemingly endless energy. Working out was supposed to make you feel good, so why was it that it just made him want to get smashed?

 

**Day 16**

Logan grudgingly had to admit he was getting used to this. Being sober did make it easier to get up in the mornings, and it was actually pretty nice to run with Dick every day. He was starting to remember what it was like to just have a best friend, back before everything became about avoiding their respective dramas.

 

Now their time together was pretty much spent trying to one-up each other making their workouts into a Rocky montage. It was so simple, yet so fun. Dick even started this morning drinking a glass full of raw eggs, and was now jogging up the steps at the local middle school in his hoodie. The man never seemed to run out of energy. Logan was doing much better, but was still pretty winded. He slowly ascended the steps, and by the time he reached the top he was amazed to see Dick was down on the field jump-roping. How could he possibly have so much energy?

 

“Come on Lo. Bet I can do more push-ups than you!”

 

Logan was sure he could. He walked down to the field, psyching himself up. Just get to 10, he told himself, just get to 10 and you can have a donut later.

 

**Day 82**

They had started the day with 100 push ups, then ran 5 miles, completed their now traditional Rocky montage, and were racing each other through their 100 sit-ups. Dick was extremely proud of his best friend. When they started all of this, he really thought Logan might just keel over with a heart attack. But here they were, almost 3 months in, and his buddy was like a new man. He was really trying not to think about how much he would miss Logan, who was going into boot camp in just a couple days. They still had time for a bit of fun.

 

Dick reached 100 first and jumped up. He went over to a bag that was under the bleachers and grabbed something. Logan reached into his pocket, recognizing a perfect opportunity. He slipped the costume vampire teeth into his mouth and jumped toward Dick with a hiss. Dick swung around and threw a marshmallow at Logan, who feigned collapsing on the ground while Dick threw the rest of the marshmallows on him. Logan played dead for a moment, and then scooped up as many of the treats he could grab and pelted Dick with them. Suddenly it was like they were 12 years old again, not a care in the world.

 

After they had worn out much of their ammunition, both fell to the ground. Dick picked up a marshmallow that looked decently clean and popped it in his mouth.

 

“Ready for round number two?” Dick asked.

 

“Number 2” Logan repeated, and they both broke  out into giggles.

 

Life is good when you’re spending it with your best friend.


	16. Salt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Inspired by DestinyFreeReally’s story for prompt 13. Dead End. After reading that take on Veronica leaving town I couldn’t stop thinking about how the events of the movie and TTDL would affect her.)

I left because I came to realize that maybe all the darkness in Neptune, everything pulling everyone I loved down, centered on me. I couldn’t let sleeping dogs lie and I dragged down everyone in my life. So I left, to give them a fighting chance at happiness. I left, hoping new scenery and new people would mean a new normal for me. It worked too. I did well at Stanford then threw myself into law school. I focused on all the good I could do in the world, how I could work to make people’s lives better instead of working to tear secrets apart.

 

And then Logan called, and I couldn’t say no. I couldn’t resist that pull. I did have second thoughts, when I told Piz. I knew when I saw his face that I was throwing away everything if I went. But we both pretended it was just a quick trip to help a friend and see my dad and everything would be back to normal in a week.

 

Wallace had become a teacher at Neptune High, and it actually seemed to make him happy. Mac was working at Kane Software, which wouldn’t be my choice for anyone for personal grudge reasons, but she was getting to fully utilize her skills and making good money doing it so I was proud of her (not that I could let on about that of course). Even Weevil got his life together; he got married and had a kid. I still can’t believe Eli Navarro is a dad. Corny managed to get rich off of Etsy, which is amazing, even Mr. Clemmons seemed happy.

 

And I can’t forget about Logan. He joined the Navy of all things. He has done really well in the Navy. Sure, maybe sticking with Carrie wasn’t his best choice, but I can’t pretend he would have turned out nearly as well if we had stayed together. He would have ended up in prison or dead. We were toxic together.

 

And then as soon as I’m back in town, everything goes downhill for everyone again. Weevil was arrested on bogus charges. Sacks was killed and dad barely made it out alive. Mac threw away her good job to help me out. Even the Padre’s went on a loosing streak. I tried to tell myself it wasn’t about me, this is just life in Neptune, and it was all destined to happen before I even answered the call. But I still felt like I had brought the black cloud back and placed it firmly over my friends. But I pushed on, because this is were I feel like I need to be; helping dad, staying in the thick of it, not running away again.

 

But today was just rubbing salt in my wounds. Today I found out that as soon as Lianne was out of my life, as soon as I stopped trying to help her and get our family back together, she got a happy new life. She got sober, got a new family with a built in new daughter who didn’t drive her to drink, and then had a little boy. She got the perfect life with the perfect nuclear family as soon as she got away from me. Am I really so toxic that my own mother can’t be around me? Good thing Logan is at sea, I’d hate to see what trouble I’d be dragging him into.


	17. Enchantment

**May 1979**

 

I’m freaking out here. What do I do? I told her to take care of it. Why the hell did she not just take care of it months ago? Or go through the channels for a proper adoption? But no, she just has to try to ruin my life by leaving the thing on my doorstep, my doorstep in complete public view! So now I have to think up something to tell the neighbors if they ask.

 

It started as such a good day too. I love May, because it means pretty soon I have 10 weeks of freedom, not having to deal with those teenagers every day. I love Saturdays for the same reason. I get to just relax with my coffee and my paper and enjoy the silence. So I open my door to get the newspaper and there’s just a baby laying in my milk box. What kind of person puts a baby in a milk box? With a note that just said “I’ll keep our secret, but can’t keep her.” What the fuck did Mary think I could do with a baby? After the rumors that Lianne and Deborah started earlier this year if anyone sees me with a baby my life will be ruined. It’s not like I can just walk into a hospital and say “hey, found this baby outside.” There would be too many questions. And it’s not like I can keep her. I don’t know anything about babies.

  

I know. Teenage girls are always having babies and just leaving them in the bathroom. I know I’ve seen news stories about it before. So if I can just get this thing into prom tonight, no one will think twice about me, they’ll all be too busy gossiping about which girl managed to give birth at prom without anyone noticing. That’s settled, there will be some excitement at Enchantment under the Sea tonight. Hey, I’ll give everyone a prom to remember, they should thank me. 

 

Fuck. Now I have to figure out what to do with this thing for the next 12 hours. 


	18. Rotten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning, this one is darker. Cursing and verbal/emotional abuse ahead.

Celeste had finished off two bottles of wine after dinner, since Jake was working late again and there wasn’t anything better to do. She went to throw the bottles in the recycle bin when she saw the shards of one of their crystal water glasses. Of course she blamed her daughter and stormed up the steps already yelling.

 

“Lilly, you have some explaining to do! I put so much care into this house and you do nothing but work to destroy it, piece by piece. What do you have to say for yourself?”

 

Lilly had reached her breaking point. She had been taking the verbal and emotional abuse from her mother for her entire life, had actually gotten pretty good at deflecting some of it and setting up many of the arguments so at least she would know what was coming. But this one was out of nowhere; she had no idea what Mommy Dearest was going on about this time.

 

“God Mom, what are you talking about? I haven’t even left my room since dinner. What’s your excuse for hating me now?”

 

“You broke one of the crystal glasses. You know how much I loved those; you know they came from Paris. And you didn’t even have the common curtsey of facing up to it and telling me!”

 

“I didn’t break any of your precious glasses. Jeeze, you’d think I was the only one in this house. Didn’t it ever occur to you that it could have been Duncan, or Dad, or one of the staff? No, it _had_ to be me because you hate me so much. Just tell me, tell me why do you hate me?”

 

“Because you have been rotten since the moment of your conception! Because I found out that your _father_ had been cheating on me with that Lianne for years! He had been fucking her for fucking _years._ I confronted him about it and somehow he managed to make our argument end up in bed. He hadn’t touched me in almost a year and then the minute I call him out he wants to fuck me? I was such an idiot for letting it happen. And then you came along and I couldn’t very well leave him, now could I? I couldn’t get a _divorce_ and be a _single mother_. I was stuck, all because of _you_. And to top it all off, you just had to be born the day I learned that _she_ was knocked up, likely by _my husband_. So every year on your birthday I have to remember that fucktastic day.”

 

“Shit, Mom. You could have left him. You could have had an abortion. Anything would have been better than choosing to hate me for everything he did.”

 

“You’re right Lilly. I should have had an abortion. Then I wouldn’t have to deal with all the trouble you are always causing me.” The look Celeste gave her daughter honestly made Lilly wonder if looks could kill. And then she slammed out of the room, leaving Lilly to collapse on the floor in tears.


	19. I Can't Do This

Mac sat on her couch pretending to watch tv, trying to fool herself.

 

_This is really interesting. Yep, way more interesting than my computer over there. Yep, nothing interesting there. I love this show, I should give it my full attention._

Mac had been set up on a blind date by one of the women she worked with at Kane Software. The woman told her he is tall, blond, funny, fit, an entrepreneur, enjoys surfing and in general just having fun. “Up for just about anything.” _So basically the complete opposite of me_ , she thought when she had heard the description. June wouldn’t tell her the guy’s name though, knowing Mac’s prowess at hacking and figuring she would do a full background check before even saying hello and find some sort of excuse to ditch the date.

 

And June was right. It was driving Mac crazy not knowing.

 

_Why did I even agree to this stupid date? It’s not like I even WANT to be in a relationship. I enjoy being single, only having to worry about myself. Something must be wrong with this guy. If he was so perfect it wouldn’t matter if I did a little “get to know you” digging._

_What does “entrepreneur” mean anyway? In college Max called himself an entrepreneur, and look how he turned out. I bet Weevil probably thought of himself as an entrepreneur too. For all I know if Ted Bundy were still around he would call himself an entrepreneur. Definitely a red flag, I should look into it._

_But I promised to have an open mind. Try dating without expectations. Besides, I’m watching Cake Wars and I need to find out who is going to win. These Monopoly cakes are crazy. I bet one of them falls over, that’s what you get when you try to make a cake that’s five feet tall. The host looks so familiar. What else was he in? I could just go online really quick. Check IMDB, then maybe twitter and facebook. It’s not like that would hurt anything._

_And if I just happened to check June’s friend’s list? Find a blond local surfer, what could it hurt? Just see what some possibilities are. It’s not like I’ll know for sure who she meant. That’s where I’ll draw the line. I won’t go through her emails or texts to see who she’s setting me up with. THAT would be going too far, but facebook is public information. I wouldn’t even be hacking._

Mac had talked herself into it. Of course, June had over 1,000 facebook friends. So it would be a fun little challenge to figure out who was the one. She scrolled through, taking note of a few potentials to look at more later. And then, she saw a face she hadn’t thought about in years.

 

_Oh hell no! She can’t possibly mean him! But of course with my luck she would be setting me up with Dick Cassablancas. I can’t do this! There is no way. Even if there is a 1 in 1,000 chance that she could have meant him I have to cancel. I absolutely can not go on a date with Dick._

_Can I?_


	20. Trainer

  1. Trainer



 

Oh Veronica, I have a secret and it’s not a good one. I’ve learned so much since I died. I can observe so much of the living, since they can’t see me they don’t filter anything. And I’ve met some fellow dead people and have learned a lot from them too. It’s sort of funny, how my dying turned us both into detectives, sort of. I just wish I could tell you everything I know. Help you solve this case before the not knowing destroys you.

 

I’m confident you’ll figure out Aaron Echolls killed me. Taking those tapes, was one of my poorer choices. I don’t know what I was even going to do with them, it’s not like I had a plan beyond taunting him. I don’t know how you will figure it out, but you are so determined I know you will. This scares me so much Veronica. Because I wasn’t the first person he killed, and I wasn’t the last. So I know if he thinks you are on to him, he’s going to try to kill you too.

 

Remember how he was married before Lynn, but Logan and Trina didn’t know anything beyond that? Her name was Sarah. They met their senior year in high school, and she moved to L.A. with him after graduation. She didn’t really have a desire to act, but he was going to be famous and wanted to make sure she deserved him. So she got a trainer, lost a few pounds, and got some bit parts here or there. Her biggest role was a waitress in a mob movie; her line was “more water?” They adopted Trina so she wouldn’t lose her figure. Then one night when Trina was 2 they were out at a party. Sarah made some joke about Aaron loving fast cars because he does everything fast. He stewed over that for more than a week. He waited until the night before her hair appointment, knowing she would leave Trina with a sitter, and he drained her break fluid. She drove right through a red light and caused an accident where she and another driver died, 4 more people were injured. It was written off as a tragic accident.

 

You know that movie he made when we were like 7? I thought it was so amazing that Logan’s dad got to go live in Asia for 4 months. Well, one of his many one night stands made a mistake. In her afterglow she said “my friends are never going to believe I got to fuck you.” It still amazed me that for how much he slept around, he still valued discretion. He wanted to be seen as the perfect man. This time, he didn’t even bother to hide it. He slammed her head against the wall until there was hardly anything left. Then he cleaned himself up and just left, confident nothing would ever tie him to her, and he was right. He really liked it that time too. It wasn’t just solving a problem. It’s what he thinks about now, to get in the mood.

 

Then there was Lynn. He had been slipping things into her bottles for years. Sometimes benzos, to make sure she would sleep through any fun he might have with the staff. Sometimes hallucinogens, so she would think she was going crazy. He raped her pretty regularly when she was drugged. Then the stuff with the tabloids happened, and Logan getting into trouble more. She cut back her drinking, which meant the drugs too even though she didn’t know it. Her thinking cleared up a bit and she threatened to leave him. So he followed her that day when they left the school, waiting until they were on a deserted stretch of road, honking and flashing his lights until she finally pulled over. He strangled her to death, crushed her throat with his bare hands. Then he threw her in her car, wrote out a suicide note on her palm pilot, drove to the Coronado bridge, threw her over the side and just walked away like nothing had happened.

 

So you see Veronica, I’m really worried about you. I just know that if he thinks you are close to putting the pieces together he’s going to come after you. As much as I love the thought of being able to hang out with you for eternity, you have such big things ahead of you in life. I try to nudge things when I can, but please Veronica, always take Backup.


	21. Superstition

“Careful dude! I’m not down for 7 years bad luck if that breaks.”

 

“I’m pretty sure that superstition only applies to mirrors, Dick” Logan replies, adjusting his grip on the glass coffee table they were carrying.

 

“If you break that, I’ll be sure to give you 7 years of bad luck!” Veronica shouted from the street, where she was removing a box from the back of the truck.

 

“Why are we doing this?” Dick asked. “Haven’t you guys ever heard of movers? You know, you pay them and go have a beer or 3, they pack up your stuff, move it to the new place, and even unpack it for you. You come home to the new place and it’s like magic.”

 

“We know how movers work Dick. But Veronica and I don’t have much stuff, so we decided it made more sense to borrow the truck and just pay you guys in beer and pizza. Like moving day and a house warming all in one.” Logan set his end of the coffee table down and couldn’t help grinning.

 

“I was promised whisky and vegan sushi and will settle for nothing less” Mac called as she came through the door carrying a couple trash bags with hangers poking out of one end.

 

“I was told that there would be snicker doodles. In fact I was promised my weight in snicker doodles, though I’ll take the pizza and beer too.” Wallace chimed in while placing the dishes into the kitchen cabinets.

 

Veronica walked in carrying the box stacked with a laundry basket full of sheets and topped with pillows, the tower extending a good foot above her head.

 

“All the food in the kingdom shall be your reward when the truck is empty. Until then, nothing but bread and water for my indentured servants.” She said with a laugh, dropping her load in the bedroom the steering Logan and Dick back towards the truck.


	22. Leverage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to go "Choose your own adventure" to continue Chapter 19 (I can't do this). So, If you want Mac to be wrong and the date is not with Dick, continue reading. If you want her to be right and it is with Dick, come back tomorrow.

Mac decided to go with it. She wasn’t even sure why, she could think of thousands of reasons to bail on this date. But she didn’t have any other plans, and its true it had been a while since she had gone on a date. She was perfectly satisfied being single. But maybe she could leverage a bad date into June owing her a favor or two.

 

She arrived at Mama Leonie’s early and took a seat at the bar, strategically placing herself so she could easily see the door but wouldn’t be easily noticed through the windows. She ordered her favorite drink, an Old Granddad on the rocks and focused on just breathing. By the time she had gotten to her second drink, she was starting to feel more confident.

 

That is when the tall blond man walked through the door. He was dresses in a well tailored suit that looked expensive, had very broad shoulders, and walked with the confidence of a man who was used to everything going his way. She watched as he leaned close to the hostess and said something, then looked toward the bar. He strode across the room and looked at Mac with the most intense eyes she had ever seen.

 

“Cindy Mackenzie? I’m Jack, June’s friend”

 

“People call me Mac. Um, yes, hi, nice to meet you.” She belatedly noticed his outstretched hand and shook it, feeling a bit flustered. She had been so sure it would be Dick, had pretty much planned everything around expecting him. Now she felt completely out to sea, having to actually participate in a blind date.

 

“Shall we grab a table?” Jack asked, offering a hand to assist Mac.

 

“Sure, sounds good.”

 

Once they were seated and had made the standard small talk over the menu offerings, it was time to get personal.

 

“So Jack, tell me about yourself. June wouldn’t tell me anything.”

 

“Well, I grew up in Connecticut; I moved out here for college and fell in love with the weather and surfing so I decided to stay. I met June in college; we were in the same dorm sophomore year. Now I work in finance and spend my free time hitting the waves, hiking, and mostly just enjoying life. What about you?”

 

 

…

 

 

They chatted through their meal. Jack was always ready with another topic whenever their conversation hit a lull. He told a few jokes that were slightly funny and completely non-offensive. It was all fine, probably good even. But something about this guy irked Mac. He was too smooth, too perfect. Not a hint of doubt appeared on his face ever. She felt like she was on a hidden camera show, where he had the script and she was left in the dark.

 

Mac started to zone out a bit while Jack went on about saving orphans while he was on a surfing trip in South America. _I almost hope this is an act and he’s hiding something. This is exhausting. How is it someone who could probably check every box on the “Mr. Perfect” list can end up being so unattractive? There’s just nothing here for me._

 

Their plates were mostly empty and the waiter came by their table.

 

“Let me get these out of the way for you. Can I interest you in some dessert?”

 

“No, actually, I have to get going.” She stood up, setting enough cash on the table to cover her meal and a generous tip. “It was nice to meet you Jack. Have a nice night.” And with that, she left the restaurant. She was confident that her life would continue to be just fine without adding Jack to it.


	23. Flicker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a "choose your own adventure" style continuation of "I can't Do This." If you want to see what happens if Mac's date is Dick, keep reading. If you want to see what the date was like with someone else showing up, check out yesterdays post.
> 
> (First bit is the same for both chapters, so ignore the deja vu feeling)

Mac decided to go with it. She wasn’t even sure why, she could think of thousands of reasons to bail on this date. But she didn’t have any other plans, and its true it had been a while since she had gone on a date. She was perfectly satisfied being single. But maybe she could leverage a bad date into June owing her a favor or two.

 

She arrived at Mama Leonie’s early and took a seat at the bar, strategically placing herself so she could easily see the door but wouldn’t be easily noticed through the windows. She ordered her favorite drink, an Old Granddad on the rocks and focused on just breathing. By the time she had gotten to her second drink, she was starting to feel more confident.

 

That is when the tall blond man walked through the door. He was dresses in a well tailored suit that looked expensive, had very broad shoulders, and walked with a slight bounce to his steps, almost as if he were dancing to music only he could hear. He sidled up to the hostess, who pointed toward Mac. As his face turned to look, she saw her suspicions were confirmed; Dick Casablanca’s was walking her way.

 

As he approached, she watched his face. His polite first impression smile faded as his eyes showed a flicker of vague recognition, followed by a look of concentration as she imagined he was trying to place her. When he was about half way across the room a look of horror flashed across his face, and then she saw him settle everything back like a mask into the polite expression he had started with just as he got to the bar.

 

“Wow, what a small world to see you here Mac. I guess I forgot that your name is really Cindy, so when June set me up with Cindy Mackenzie I didn’t even think…well, is this okay? If it’s not, you can totally leave; I wouldn’t hold it against you.”

 

Mac was flabbergasted. This definitely wasn’t what she was expecting. This wasn’t the guy she spent much of her senior year avoiding while hanging out with her boyfriend. This definitely wasn’t the Dick she knew in college. Was it all an act? Maybe, but she figured at least he cared enough to put on the act. That has to be worth at least dinner, right? She stood.

 

“Yeah, this is okay. Ready to get a table?”

 

………

 

Mac was astonished to look at her watch and realize almost 3 hours had passed. They both avoided talking anything about the past, but conversation flowed easily. They discussed video games, movies, the stock market, the best places to get away for a long weekend nearby, even the push for marijuana legalization. She hadn’t had such an effortless first date in…well, ever actually. Dick noticed her glancing at her watch and discreetly checked the time on his phone.

 

“Wow, it’s getting late. Sorry to keep you so long. Let me just get the check and I’ll walk you to your car. If that’s okay with you.”

 

“Yes, that’s okay with me. This has been fun. So…do you want my number?”


	24. Bookmark

“Hey hon, have you seen my bookmark?” Veronica asked from her place on the bed, surrounded by books and notebooks.

 

“Isn’t it in that blue book there?” Piz replied, glancing back over his shoulder from his place at the desk where he was doing research for his show the next day.

 

“No, I’m looking for the green bookmark. And my pen, how did I manage to lose my pen? I haven’t moved in 3 hours.”

 

“Maybe your ghosts are trying to tell you its time to take a break. Stand up, stretch your legs. I can take a break too. Maybe head over to the couch since it’s not covered in hard objects; we could get in some quality stress relief time.”

 

“That sounds great, it really does. But I’m on call tomorrow in administrative law, and I’m pretty sure there’s a good chance that Frisk will have me on call in Evidence, so I have to know like 100 pages of material forward and backwards. Plus midterms are coming up and…”

 

Piz walked over, pen in hand. He handed it to Veronica and kissed her on the top of her head. “Say no more. Focus. You’ve got this.”

 

With that he picked up a green bookmark from on top of one of the other books, gave her a smile, and went back to his computer. Maybe in a few years, once she’s passed the bar and settled into a firm then they will be able to have a normal evening as a couple. Just maybe.


	25. Spirit

The room was dark, illuminated only by the 6 candles on each nightstand, their flames dancing with the movement of breath. The edges of the room were inky with long distorted shadows. The 5 girls all sat cross legged on the bed in a circle each had a hand reached to the center, 2 fingers lightly resting on the plastic planchette.

 

“Ohhhh, great all-knowing spirits, we come to you to gather the wisdom of the beyond. Are you here?” Lilly was really hamming this one up, dressed up in a scarf draped over her head and gold bangle bracelets halfway up each arm.

 

The planchette moved swiftly to the “YES” on the Ouija board. Several girls giggled.

 

“Will I marry a movie star?” Shelly jumped in, wanting to be the first to ask a question. The planchette moved directly to the “NO” and Shelly did a dramatic pout.

 

“What grade will I get on the history test next week?” Meg asked with a giggle. The planchette slowly moved around the board before settling over the “A.” Meg let out an exaggerated sigh of relief.

 

“Who am I going to marry?” Madison chimed in.

 

“G-R-E-G” the girls all read out in a whisper.

 

“Greg? Who’s Greg? What about a last name?” Madison said with an annoyed tone.

 

“NO” was the Ouija reply.

 

“Are we going to be friends forever?” Veronica took her turn. The planchette didn’t move.

 

“Will I be famous?” Lilly asked.

 

“YES” replied the board.

 

“For what?” Lilly couldn’t help but ask a follow up question.

 

The planchette moved slowly but deliberately. “D-E-A-T-H”

 

The girls all gasped. At that moment a gust of wind extinguished all the candles, leaving nothing but darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this one with a migraine, so let me know if you notice any glaring errors I should fix.


	26. Tomorrow

Keith is handling bedtime solo tonight. He doesn’t mind, he enjoys the one-on-one time with Veronica. But the girl would stay up all night asking questions if he let her.

 

“Daddy, what was school like when you were my age?”

 

“Pretty much the same as it is now sweetie. Math and reading and writing and all the basics, with lunch and recess. It’s time for you to go to sleep.”

 

“Daddy, Sean keeps chasing us around the playground and saying mean things. Can you arrest him?”

 

“No sweetie, we don’t usually arrest kids. Tomorrow we can talk about how to get him to stop, okay?”

 

“Okay. So, when I go to college, what college do you think I should go to?”

 

“Veronica, you have 12 years to figure that out, and you have to be up for school in 8 hours. You need to go to sleep now. I’m turning off the light and closing the door. Good night sweetie, sweet dreams.”


	27. Sparkles

Veronica was currently working a suspected adultery case, and that meant she had been on stakeouts 3 nights in a row, and so far there was no evidence of any philandering. She hadn’t been parked outside the Camelot once this week. But the late nights were starting to get to her, she wasn’t as young as she used to be. Now she was tired, so she decided to take advantage of a lull in the work day and head home for a quick nap. When she pulled into the driveway Logan’s car was already there, which would have been a nice surprise, but so was Dick’s. Veronica decided to sneak into the house very quietly to asses the situation. Maybe if they were playing video games or something she could still nap without having to interact with anyone first.

 

She expected to hear them in the home theater, so she was a bit surprised to hear the voices coming from the kitchen. The guys never hung out in the kitchen. She moved quietly to the hallway where she would be able to hear them better but they weren’t likely to see her.

 

“I know I bought sparkles, they’ve got to be here somewhere. Are you sure you got everything out of the bags?” Her fiancé’s voice made her smile reflexively. If Dick weren’t here, she could skip the nap and build up her energy another way...But then he spoke, and killed that mood.

 

“Sparkles? I think you mean sprinkles, dude. Sparkles would be like glitter and shit, sprinkles are the things you eat.”

 

“Okay, sprinkles then. Does it really matter? I know I bought them. I just want this cake to be perfect for Veronica.”

 

Cake? She risked peeking around the corner. The kitchen was a mess. There was flour on the counter, what looked like sugar or salt on the floor. Half the contents of the refrigerator and their cabinets were out on the counter, along with several dirty bowls, measuring cups, mixing spoons, the mixer, and the food processor. She couldn’t believe these two were making a cake from scratch!

 

“Found them. Do you really need 5 types of sprinkles?” Dick’s voice cut in to her thoughts.

 

“It’s Veronica, more is always better when it comes to food. And I just really want this surprise party to be perfect for her, you know? It’s the first time as adults that I’m home to celebrate her birthday.”

 

Veronica’s heart melted. She quietly retraced her steps and snuck back out the front door to her car. She could find somewhere else to nap. No need to interrupt the boys and their work.


	28. Medication

“Daddy, why do you take so many pills every day?”

 

He was startled by the question. He hadn’t realized his daughter had even noticed, or that it would be something she would ever question. He had never hidden the fact that his morning started with 4 pills and his evening ended with a couple more. He also didn’t want to get into a conversation about mental health disorders with his 6 year old.

 

“It’s just my medication sweetie. To make sure I stay a healthy daddy for you.”

 

“Does that mean you’re sick? Sarah, in my class at school, says her mom has to take a lot of pills now that she has cancer. Sarah says her mom might die, but she’s not supposed to know that. I told her that my mom died, and she started crying. Are you going to die too?”

 

 _Holy shit._ He definitely wasn’t expecting this at the breakfast table this morning. He wasn’t expecting this ever. When Lilly first started asking if she had a mommy a couple years ago he told her a story about how her mom loved her so much when Lilly was in her belly that even after she got very hurt, she held on long enough that Lilly could be born healthy and strong; she died after Lilly was born so she could become a guardian angel. She seemed satisfied with that. He didn’t even know if she knew what death really meant. She seemed fine with the fact that it was just the two of them. Duncan suddenly realized that those bright blue eyes were staring at him, waiting for an answer that he didn’t know how to give.

 

“No, I’m not sick. I’m not going to die. It’s just…well, sometimes people’s bodies need a little bit of extra help. Your body has lots of jobs to do, and sometimes there are parts that don’t work quite the way they are supposed to. When a doctor finds out your body needs a bit of help, there are certain medicines they can give you to help.” It sounded convoluted, even to his own ears.

 

“Like when I had strep throat last year?”

 

“Yes, sort of like that. But you only had to take your medicine long enough for your body to get the bad germs out. My body needs the medicine every day.”

 

“Oh, okay. Can we go surfing after school? I want to practice my pop up some more.”

 

“Sure sweetie, anything you want.” Duncan let out a sigh of relief. This single dad thing wasn’t getting any easier.


	29. Fright

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure how this one turned into another Duncan POV, it didn't start that way. This story ended up having a mind of its own.

“Haunted houses are so lame. Can’t we do something else?” Duncan pleaded one more time. He wasn’t sure why he bothered though, it’s not like anyone listened to him any of the other times he objected over the past week. He had to figure out a way to avoid going in to the haunted house, but he couldn’t come out and tell them _why_ he couldn’t go through. It was too risky.

 

Lilly reached up to pat her little brother, who was now a full head taller than her, on the head. “Is Duncan wuncan afwaid of the scawy zombies?”

 

“Aww, don’t worry man, I’m sure Ronnie here will protect you!” Logan taunted, taking a swig out of the bottle he was carrying, then passing it over to Lilly.

 

Veronica took her boyfriend’s hand and bumped against his side.

 

“We don’t have to go in if you don’t want. But being scared is fun sometimes, don’t you think? I love watching scary movies.”

 

“Umm, yeah. Scary movies are great. I was just in the mood for hanging out on the beach, maybe getting some ice cream or something. I uh, like looking at you under the full moon.” He was trying to sound casual, but was starting to panic a little.

 

“Ice cream sounds good. Maybe we could hit up Amy’s after? Fright nights on the pier is one of my favorite things. I hear this year there’s a room with a guiatine chopping off someone’s head and the blood sprays all over you.”

 

The twinkle in Veronica’s eye was the last thing you’d expect to see from such a quiet pixie of a girl, but it was undeniably there. Lilly noticed it too and started laughing, passing the bottle over to her best friend.

 

“Careful Donut. From that look Veronica has I think she might enjoy going all Lizzie Borden. You better not cross her!”

 

Logan grabbed the bottle back, draining the last bits of liquid and throwing it into a trash can as the pier came into view. They could hear screams in the distance, along with faintly creepy carnival sounds. Duncan’s palms were getting sweaty. He needed to figure out a way out of this once and for all. Big emotions were too risky. The last thing he needed was for fear to set off one of his episodes. Choking a zombie or body slamming a demented clown definitely isn’t the way to capture the heart of the cutest girl in school. But looking like a coward wasn’t going to score him any points either. It was time for a calculated move. As they headed up the steps from the beach he let go of Veronica’s hand, deliberately misplaced his foot, and tumbled backwards down the half flight of stairs.

 

Veronica gasped and ran down towards him. Lilly rolled her eyes at her clumsy little brother and sighed as she and Logan retreated back down the steps as well.

 

“Oh my God, are you hurt? Do you need an ambulance? Did you hit your head? How many fingers am I holding up?” Veronica was clearly a bit panicked.

 

“No, no, I’m fine. I think I just tweaked my ankle a bit, but I’ll be fine, really. Logan, help me up man.”

 

Logan reached down to pull his friend up out of the sand. Duncan rose to his feet, winced a bit, and hobbled forward and slowly up the steps.

 

“Look, I’m fine, really. I don’t think I can walk through the haunted house, but I don’t want to ruin your fun. Go, enjoy the blood and zombies. I’ll just wait for you guys out here.”

 

Veronica was torn. She felt like she really should stay with Duncan, keep him company. But the haunted house was supposed to be so cool, and it’s not like it would be around forever. She looked at her boyfriend with a combination of pity and puppy dog eyes.

 

“Are you sure? I can stay here with you if you want.”

 

“No, go. I don’t want to ruin your night. Have fun, I’ll be fine out here on my own. My new phone has _Snake_ so I can be entertained for hours. I’ll be right here on this bench when you come back.”

 

“Okay. We’ll come back as soon as we can.” Veronica kissed him on the cheek, then the three teens walked into the night toward the screams, looking like they were in a superhero movie or something. Duncan was happy. Crisis averted.


	30. Trick

Veronica was tired and these kids just had so much energy. She absolutely loves Wallace, but next time she is going to think twice before agreeing to babysit. They colored, they read books, and they played outside until it got too cold. Now the 4 and 5 year olds were practically bouncing off the walls and there was still at least an hour of time to fill before their dad would get home.

 

“Hey guys, want me to teach you something cool? But it would have to be our secret, because your parents might not like it.”

 

“Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah!” Jessie, Wallace’s 4 year old daughter cheered

 

“You can teach me, I can keep a secret. She’s a total blabber mouth though.” Kyle piped in.

 

Veronica went to her purse and withdrew a slim leather case. “These are called picks. With enough patience, you can open any lock. It’s like a fun puzzle.”

 

She went on to demonstrate on the bathroom door lock, which really could be easily picked with just about anything but it was good enough to keep them occupied for a while.

 

About 15 minutes later Kyle was on the brink of a meltdown.

 

“I can’t do it, it’s not working. This is no fair, you must have given her the good tools!” It really didn’t help that his little sister had managed to work the lock in less than a minute.

 

“Just take a deep breath. The trick is to be patient and really quiet. Because it helps if you can hear when each tumbler moves, sometimes it’s hard to feel it at first.”

 

“I leave you alone with my kids for a few hours and you are already turning them into little criminals?” Wallace was standing with his arms crossed, his stern dad face in place but his twinkling eyes betrayed the fact that he was rather enjoying this.

 

“Don’t worry daddy. Kyle won’t be able to be a criminal even if he wants to. He’s really bad at this. But Aunt V says if I keep practicing I can be a little Houdini.”

 

Veronica sighed. The boy was right, she couldn’t keep a secret. Not that they hadn’t been caught red handed anyway.

 

“What can I say? It’s not like I foresee any rug rats in my future. I need someone to take over the family business some day. Better start training them while they’re young, right?” Veronica said with a sheepish grin, punctuating the sentence by bumping her shoulder against her best friend’s. Wallace just rolled his eyes.

 

“Yeah, but now I have to explain this to their mother.”


	31. Treat

“Aren’t we too old to go Tick-or-Treating?” Mac asked skeptically.  

 

“You two are pretty short. If you wear masks I don’t think anyone will even question it.” Wallace replied confidently.

 

“Oh, _we’re_ short, mister shortest player on the basketball team?” Veronica did not like being reminded of her diminutive stature.

 

“Yes, I’m short too. But I’m not sure I can quite pull off 12. But I’m thinking if I get a bit creative with my costume, no one will be the wiser. And really what else are we going to do? Veronica refuses to let us go to any of the 09er parties. This way we get free candy. And it will be fun!”

 

“We could go as characters from My Little Pony!” Veronica chirped in her Amber voice.

 

“Or not. We could do the whole Harry Potter thing.” Mac countered.

 

“No, we need to obscure our faces. What about Transformers? I’ve seen pictures on the net of people who make the costumes out of boxes.” Wallace really wanted to go all in on Halloween this year.

 

“Sounds like too much work. Maybe we should just go to Veronica’s and watch some scary movies. I mean, we can _buy_ our own candy. What about Friday the 13 th?”

 

“Well, if we’re going that route, we should get ice cream and pizza too. I heard Saw is good. Maybe we should just go to the movie theater?” Veronica chimed in

 

“Aww, come on guys. What about Trick-or-Treating? It’s probably the last time in our lives we will be able to do it, and you guys want to watch a movie instead? I thought you two would be more adventurous than that!” Wallace was starting to think maybe he was the only one who actually wanted to celebrate the holiday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to write something really great to finish off this month. But this is all I could come up with, and I don't like it very much.
> 
> But I would like to thank everyone who read my pieces this month, and extra thank you's to all the supportive and complimentary comments.


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